Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small delivers year-end review post-acquittal

Mayor Small's year-end review after acquittal

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small delivered his annual year-end review just days after being acquitted of all charges in a child abuse case. 

ATLANTIC CITY - Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small took the stage to deliver his annual year-end review just days after being acquitted of all charges in a child abuse case. 

Atlantic City's progress in 2025 

What we know:

Mayor Small rated his administration with a B grade, highlighting the city's progress across various departments. 

"Last time I checked, 85% is a B. And this is gonna motivate us moving forward next year to continue to make this city great," said Small. 

Police Chief James Sarkos shared that the department has introduced new safety-optimized handguns for all officers. 

"Introducing new safety optimized hand guns for all officers. We did accomplish that. Every single Atlantic City police officer was issued a new handgun," said Sarkos.

Fire Chief Scott Evans introduced a new fire pump designed for faster responses on the boardwalk. 

"This is a specialized piece of equipment that can drive up to the boardwalk and help supply water to whatever the incident may be," said Evans. 

The city also improved elementary schools with visually impaired signs at every intersection and implemented new yearly inspections for motels and hotels with fewer than 100 rooms. 

"We just wanna improve the hotel motels because if you read the reviews, they haven’t been good, we wanna improve the image of Atlantic City through this effort," said Dale Finch, director of licensing and inspection. 

Mayor Small's outlook for 2026 

What they're saying:

Mayor Small emphasized the importance of leadership during crises and expressed optimism for the future. 

"People need to know how leadership responds in a crisis," said Small. He acknowledged dealing with personal challenges but remained focused on his leadership role. 

"The future is bright. We’re gonna put 2025 behind us in a big way and continue to pray for me and my family and the city of Atlantic City because God’s not through with us yet," said Small.